


Boys Will Be Boys

by TouchingOldMagic



Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [28]
Category: Ghostbusters (Comics), Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, Silly, proof reading? what's that?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25104979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TouchingOldMagic/pseuds/TouchingOldMagic
Summary: Day 28 of the Ghostbusters 30 Day ChallengePrompt: SlimerPost-Crossing Over storyline. Ray helps out some Slimers from various dimensions. Plus an extra.
Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779643
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Boys Will Be Boys

"I can't believe you agreed to set this up once a month, man." Winston propped his hip up against one of basement consoles, after a quick check to make sure he wouldn't be leaning on any switches or levers. He had snagged a box of Cheez-Its from the kitchen and was now watching Ray with something between fascination and boredom. It was a slow day.

"Aw, there's no harm in it." Ray smiled as he made minute adjustments to the console. "And it's really a fascinating look at spirit culture. That spirits can HAVE a culture! And a social network! Heck, we could write a great parapsychology paper solely on the ramifications of forming a social structure with your own doppelganger from alternate dimensions."

Winston shook his head. He said, in a particularly dry tone, "I thought we already had plenty of excitement galloping across dimensions to reclaim a bunch of ghosts that escaped from containment and then dealing with a Chaos Goddess who decided to take all of us out in one swoop."

"It's been two months since then," Ray shrugged.

The Interspatial Teleportation Unit was a doorway that crossed dimensions. It was kept in the Ghostbusters basement, along with other equipment mere mortal men didn't need to know about. This was the second month Ray had attempted this meeting, and the coordinates were well known to him by now, so it went faster this time. Soon the space inside the doorway crackled to life, filling with pink light and sending a rosy glow over the entire basement.

"I'm doing Dimension 68-R first," Ray reported. Out from the doorway popped a small green ghost with a round body and stick-like arms. Orange eyes blinked curiously and looked around, a gap-toothed grin on his face.

The ghost from 68-R didn't pay Ray and Winston a lot of attention, other than to wave at them and call out a burbled greeting. He made one zip around the basement, casting a wary eye on the Containment Unit, then parked himself in front of the portal, obviously eager to greet his fellow spirits.

Ray called up Dimension 68-E next, and again a small ghost zipped through immediately, this one a paler shade of green. The two ghosts greeted each other in a frenzied and high-pitched language that Ray found fascinating. Did ghosts have their own language? Were the two communicating with something more than mere auditory sounds and hand gestures?

The last time the portal sprang to life, it was tuned to Dimension 80-C. The third ghost answering to the name Slimer floated through the glowing portal. He had a deeper pitched voice than the other two, but seemed just as jovial. Then the portal deposited one last figure.

The tall blond that stepped through the doorway seemed quite out of place with the first three. He was entirely human (well, in appearance if not behavior). He wore a pale pink shirt and brown slacks, with a dark brown vest. But regardless, as soon as he stepped through, the three green ghosts circled around him, offering him slimy high fives. Kevin Beckman had been named "an honorary Slimer" after bonding with the green spirits during the Ghostbusters' last adventure, and now he joined the others in their monthly get-together.

The party headed upstairs without bother to wait for Ray to lead them. Well, they were all familiar with the layout of the firehouse, of course, as it was the same as their own. Ray grinned at Winston. "You coming?"

"I am not a babysitter, man."

"Suit yourself, but it's pretty neat."

Winston considered for a moment, realized he had nothing better to do, and then fell into step behind Ray as they followed the group upstairs.

They passed Janine's desk on the way upstairs. All three Slimers garbled a friendly greeting to her as they floated by. They could be overly affectionate with anyone, even Peck, so Ray wasn't sure if they were cognizant of the fact that she was a separate individual from the Janine Melnitz they knew in their own dimensions or not.

Kevin stopped in front of Janine's desk, placed a post-it note that said OURS on top of her whale paperweight, then continued on to the stairs. Janine removed the post-it note without looking up from her computer after he was gone.

Once upstairs, the parade stopped when they reached the lab area on the second floor. All three Slimers hovered around Kevin. They created a huddle and a low murmur came from the group as an intense debate started.

Winston raised his eyebrows at Ray, who stood back, watching with much amusement and offering no explanation.

Then the first Slimer, from 68-R, broke off from the pack. He took a deep, deep breath, squared his little shoulders, and then zipped across the lab as fast as he could. As he neared the observation tank, the large green spirit held inside it snarled and reached out as if it could grab him. Slimer shrieked and spun a 180 so fast he was a blur. He zipped back to the other Slimers and Kevin, panting as if reaching the end of a marathon.

The other Slimers congratulated the little spirit for his bravery. Then the next in the pack readied himself and shot across the lab toward the tank. He got much closer than the first Slimer, but still the frenzied reaction of the aggressive specter in holding frightened him enough that he broke off and returned to his group of friends.

It took Winston a minute, but he soon caught on. "You're kidding," he said to Ray. "This is all they do?"

"I think it's kinda cute," Ray replied, watching the third ghost get ready to go. "Didn't you and your friends used to dare each other to do stuff when you were kids?"

Winston's lips twisted into a nostalgic grin. Then the expression took on an ironic edge. "Yeah, but I hope I'm not still doing it when I'm dead."

Then it was the living member's turn. Kevin, with the entranced face of someone watching a fireworks show at an amusement park, crept up to the research tank on tiptoe. The ghost within gave him a warning snarl, already aggravated by the entire process. Kevin was undaunted. He lightly touched the glass just as the ghost within let out a jaw-dropping howl of rage. Ray and Winston winced at the high-pitched tone, and even Kevin flinched back, but the setback was only momentary. He held his fists over his head triumphantly as he walked back to his fellow Slimers, ignoring the continued snarling and snapping of the ghost in the glass.

The trio of ghosts unanimously concluded that Kevin was the winner. The especially rotund one, who had also come from Dimension 80-C, had an expression on his face that could perhaps be interpreted as pride, as if he was pleased that the hero of the day came from his own dimension.

Kevin beamed happily, not at all reacting negatively to the patches of green slime left on his shoulders and back as they all gathered around him to give him congratulatory pats. The receptionist gave a small acceptance speech in which he thanked his dog for not accompanying him because he would have, apparently, kept Kevin away from the danger of the imprisoned ghost.

Winston shook his head. "All right, I've been distracted enough. I should find something actually productive to do." He turned to leave, and then stopped short when he found one of the Slimers hovering over his shoulder. It wasn't easy to tell them apart, but he thought this was the one from 68-R.

 _Little buggers can move fast,_ Winston mused. The ghost extended his nose like a bloodhound and sniffed at the box of Cheez-Its Winston held.

"You want some, buddy?" he offered, somewhat interested in how domesticated the little spud acted.

"Ooooooo," said the little ghost, looking at the box with rapture. Winston held it out. He was already prepared to give him the entire thing. (He certainly wasn't going to eat from it after a ghost had gotten ectoplasm all over it, anyway.) He was not prepared, however, for Slimer to open his maw to a giant angle and engulf Winston's entire hand up to his elbow. Winston hastily released the box and pulled his arm back.

Slimer swallowed the Cheez-Its, box and all, and then burped. He squeaked out something that sounded like a thank you and floated back to his buddies, leaving Winston standing in the hall with his hand and arm completely drenched in slime. Ray's shoulders were shaking with held in laughter.

"You know, I really should have seen that coming," Winston sighed.


End file.
